


Early morning at the pub

by issen4



Series: The Minutae of Go [2]
Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-23
Updated: 2009-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 00:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2487767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/issen4/pseuds/issen4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waya keeps vigil, has a Talk with Shindou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early morning at the pub

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fic that I wrote for the first round of Hng Deathmatch in 2009--the completed version, that is. (I submitted the top half of it.) Since then I've made very minor tweaks and then wrote the rest of it, and added a new title. I don't really know how common it is to have a bachelor's party in Japan - probably not very - my best guess is they just go out for drinks. So this is just a bit of OCCness, but hopefully it won't be too jarring.
> 
> Ah... In the interests of plot (what there is of it), I've put the pairings at the end of the fic. I really think it goes better if the reader doesn't know those from the start. But just in case someone wants to be warned before they read it...)

***

The stripper had already left, with only a long, bright pink feathery boa draped along the length the bar counter to prove that more exciting activities than an evening of drinking had ever occurred.

Waya looked around the pub. It was very late, so late that he thought he could see a faint reddish glow, the beginnings of false dawn from a grimy window--wait, didn't that mean that it was already the next day? Time to get ready then. Time to get everyone awake, in time for-

A moan at his side startled his thought process, and belatedly, he could feel moist breath wetting his earlobe.

His reflexes still slowed by several hours of drinking, Waya turned his head. Ah, he had been wondering what the weight against his shoulder was. He thought it was just numbness caused by sitting for too long, the way long games made his shoulders tense up for hours on end. He studied the head that was still slumped against his side.

From his vantage point, he could see that the painfully neat hairstyle Touya Akira favoured was now messy, tangled and sparkling where the stripper had slid glittery, long-nailed fingers to pull him close--no, not for a kiss, for anyone could see that Touya had been a bare second from bolting away from sheer panic--and to shake a scantily covered chest in Touya's face.

Waya had laughed uproariously at that, far more loudly than any of the others.

He had also drunk more than the others, but given the excesses of the evening it was unlikely anyone else had noticed. It was a good thing Sakimoto was such a good friend, to let him and the other Go pros have the use of his pub for the evening (and morning, the part of Waya's brain that usually calculated strategies pointed out). He couldn't think of a better place for a bachelor's party.

The rest were sleeping the sleep of the well-watered. And would be well-hungover too, Waya inwardly snickered, ignoring the pounding inside his own head. Shindou was slumped in an armchair, his mouth open as he snored. To his right were Isumi and Honda, arms slung around each other's shoulders in an entirely un-platonic way (they had only been discussing the game they had last week, but Waya suddenly wished he had a camera). Fukui was curled on another armchair, his arms wrapped around his knees, in a posture that made Waya's spine ache, and Ochi (who had, amazingly, deigned to attend) seated at the far end of the pub, was sleeping with his head resting on the bar counter. Komiya and Kadowaki, seated at another table, had passed out over a game.

It was a curious sensation to find himself the only person awake. He had been used to being the one overlooked, trailing in the dust and watching the fuss generated first by Shindou and later by Isumi, and even in the newer pros that were appearing. Even more attention-grabbing were Ogata and Kurata, who seemed to be vying for the Honinbou title with equal amounts of brilliant Go and provocative remarks aimed at each other.

And of course Touya Akira.

Touya Akira's reputation had loomed large in the Go world for as long as Waya remembered. At first he was simply the son of Touya Kouyo, with the usual extravagant predictions made about the offspring of an admired man. Then rumours began running: that he was a Go prodigy, that he had been prevented from playing in children's tournaments because he was too good, that at twelve, he was as good as a pro already.

He already seemed to be so favoured and fawned upon that when he first appeared at the pro examinations, Waya had been more incensed than he had ever been in his life. The presence of Touya Akira, the awe that seemed to grow in the dining hall when he responded to his name, the very fact that he seemed unperturbed by the difficulty of the impending ordeal--one that Waya had gone through without success twice before--seemed to be a massive insult. He didn't deserve it, Waya had thought to himself. It was _so_ easy for him. Son of Touya Meijin.

"But I have to admit," Waya said to sleeping audience in the pub, continuing the monologue aloud, "that what pissed me most was at the International Go Tournament. When everyone, even the foreigners, were talking about Sai. You'd never even heard of SAI, but when you logged on, SAI immediately requested a game with you. What makes you so special, huh?" He started to shrug his shoulder away, and reached out with a hand in rescue just as Touya's head lolled forward, in danger of braining himself on the edge of the bar counter.

Touya's hair was cool and soft.

Waya let Touya's head fall more gently to the counter, face turned away. "And after playing just a few hands, you quit the game and said you didn't want to interfere with the tournament. You were such an arrogant asshole." He found the bit of feather boa lying on the counter and played absently with it, noticing that the other end disappeared under Touya's head--Touya must be half-lying on it.

"And then what must you do but accept SAI's invitation to play online, on the first day of the pro exams. It was like the exams meant nothing to you, you bastard. You don't even realise how hard everyone worked for that!" Frustrated as he remembered the episode, he gave the soft tangle between his fingers a vicious tug, realising at the last minute he had grabbed a handful of Touya's hair by mistake as well.

"Ow!" Touya moaned.

Waya froze in position, his heart speeding up as he stared at the way Touya's head moved, as though rousing to wakefulness. But after a moment, Touya quietened again, and there was only a disturbed, sleepy mutter that lapsed to soft breathing. Heaving a sigh, Waya only looked down in belated realisation of pain, and unwound the length of feather boa from around his fingers, which tingled as circulation returned to them. He flexed them, a clawing gesture that strangely resembled the way he had grabbed for Touya just now, and thought he should tuck away the tuff of hair from Touya's face, which was floating back and forth as Touya slept.

"...'kira?"

Turning his head in the direction of the voice, Waya realised that it was Shindou who had spoken. Of course, the nature of the address should have told him that: Shindou was the only person who called Touya by his given name. Once upon a time, that was--and apparently when Shindou was half-asleep too.

Try as he might, though, Waya couldn't find it in himself to feel jealous, especially when he watched Shindou become quiet again. He had taken it for granted years ago that there was a connection between Shindou and Touya that started from the time they were both children--from the very moment Shindou started playing Go, according to the man himself--and it had not faded even though they were now adults.

It didn't affect him and Touya. Touya Akira. Akira. Waya whispered the last to himself, almost swallowing the syllables, as he reached out a finger and with a steadiness his blood alcohol level belied, flicked the floating tuff of hair from the face of the sleeping man next to him. Touya wrinkled his nose but continued sleeping.

"You take care of him," a voice said.

Waya glanced back, knowing he should be surprised that Shindou was now standing behind him but not actually feeling it. "Of course," he said.

Shindou stretched, and walked around to the empty spot on the other side of Waya, and seated himself. He wasn't drunk any more, Waya saw. "Sometimes, I'm not sure," Shindou said. "You still make fun of him a lot-"

"I was just teasing him," Waya said, trying not to sound defensive, and remembering how Touya, released from the stripper's antics, had stared at him as though to ask why he had been laughing.

"Yeah." Shindou rubbed his eyes. "He just--he doesn't always know that, okay? Touya is--Touya is not--Touya-"

Waya noted the use of 'Touya' rather than 'Akira'.

"-Touya didn't grow up the same way you did, Waya," Shindou said finally. "He's not--"

Waya could feel his lips starting to purse in a sneer. How many times had it been beaten over the collective Go community's consciousness that Touya Akira, Gosei, son of once five-title holder Touya Kouyo, was not 'the same' as other people?

"-he's not-"

"Normal?"

Shindou stopped rubbing his eyes and glared. "No!"

There was a murmur from Waya's side, and without thinking Waya placed a hand on Touya's shoulder and patted it lightly. The murmur subsided. He watched as Shindou's gaze took it all in.

"No," Shindou said in a softer voice. "Touya's as normal as you or me."

Waya wondered if Shindou's insistence came from tenderness or loyalty.

"He just--he takes everything seriously," Shindou said. "Especially things that are important to him. Like Go, or his parents, or--or you--"

"--or you."

To his credit, Shindou didn't deny it. "Yes," he said. He did not add, as Waya expected, 'We're rivals', but only looked past Waya to watch Touya sleeping. "In a few hours we're all going to sober up enough for the ceremony, so I'd better say this before I forget--while it still makes sense in my head."

"What?"

"Touya can take care of himself, so I won't bother to give you 'the talk' or anything dumb like that. It's just that--I know you know this, but you don't know it _here_." He thumped his chest, once.

Waya thought that for someone who had started off by saying "I won't bother to give you 'the talk'", Shindou seemed to be doing it.

"Go is the most important thing in Touya's life--I know, you say you know that, because you're a pro too--but it really is. He doesn't just think it, he lives it--he's never really looked outside of the goban. I'm not saying he was forced into it or that he's ignorant or anything, I mean, _you_ chose to play Go, become a pro, and all that, but not Akira--it's just that he's been... all-igo ever since he started making sense of the world as a kid, and he hides it better now, but not playing Go would be to make him disappear."

Waya noted that Shindou had said 'Akira' and not realised it.

"-and because Go is his life, everything--everyone that comes to him through Go--he takes seriously. Extra seriously. So don't think that just because Akira's a Go-playing... fiend, he doesn't take you seriously. He does!"

He had said 'Akira' again, Waya mused. "'-fiend'?" he echoed.

Shindou stuck out his tongue. "Yup." He rubbed his eyes again, seemingly in an attempt to remain awake. "So you--I know it's distas--rude, when someone tells you what you should do, especially relationships."

Waya raised his eyebrows. "You don't say," he said.

"Shut up," Shindou said good-naturedly, before he turned to look at Waya directly, his eyes reddened with lack of sleep but determined. "What I wanted to say is--return his seriousness with the same. You won't regret it."

Waya turned to the sleeping man at his side. "Yeah," he said. He had told himself that, but for some changes in their personal lives, he was not going to stop treating Touya differently. He still grumbled when Touya grabbed all the attention at Go events, and he still made remarks about Touya being known as 'Touya Kouyo's son'. He laughed when Touya showed that he knew nothing of pop culture and made silly mistakes.

It was just the way they had been, when Shindou had pulled Touya into his circle of friends and Waya had relunctantly put up with him. He hadn't seen why _he_ should change--was the great Touya Akira too high and mighty to behave like an ordinary mortal?

Waya gave himself a mental kick, recognising the direction of his thoughts. He took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yeah. I know, Shindou." He looked to his right, hesitated, then laid his hand on the nape of Touya--Akira's neck and stroked gently, once. "I know."

His entry into the Go world had been overlaid with the awareness of Touya for so long, yet it seemed incredible that this man should now be within physical reach. As Shindou said, he knew about Touya, but he didn't know it _inside_. He had never moved away from the stage when he thought of Akira as no more than a haughty, arrogant teen prodigy.

"Good." With a shake of his head, Shindou seemed to break away from his quiet mood. "Now, it's time to get everybody up and ready!" he announced. "The wedding's in..." he glanced at his watch, "in four hours' time!" He bounced to his feet, and Waya watched as Shindou poked first Isumi and then Honda awake, causing the two of them to clutch each other more tightly, and then separate awkwardly when they came to their senses. Kadowaki came awake with upraised fists that Shindou managed to duck. Komiya opened his eyes and groaned. Fukui, shaken awake, turned green and stumbled in the direction of the toilet.

"Oh, Ochi, you're awake," Shindou said, coming around to the bar. "Thanks for coming, by the way." He sounded as though he was already at the reception. There really was none of the expected nervousness about Shindou at all.

Trying to look as though he was offended, Ochi only nodded.

"And Aki-" Shindou skidded to a stop in front of them, and smiled. "I'll let you wake him," he said, and went back to the rest.

Shindou's eyes were very soft before he turned away, Waya noticed as he watched Shindou handing the returning Fukui a glass of water. He found his hand resting on the nape of Akira's neck again. He had wondered if Shindou himself ever regretted the way things turned out, but now thought that like Akira, Shindou's regrets were reserved only for Go. Very alike, the two of them. Both of them rushing ahead, meeting challenge after challenge--exhausting for anyone watching on the sidelines--and both needing people who could steady them.

He only hoped Fujisaki-san knew what she was getting into.

\---the end---  


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Pairings: Hikaru/Akari, previous Hikaru/Akira, Waya/Akira


End file.
